RTBPMII: The Secret To Victory
by Writer under training
Summary: After the shattering loss against Tobias, Ash begins to question his own methods and training. Will he be able to find the true secret behind victory? The Pokémon World Tournament continues. Who will emerge victorious? Multiple Pairings. Sequel to Road to be a Pokemon w with Chapter 0.5, recapping the events of RTBPM.
1. The Elite's Answer

**Beta Reader: **Undercityrezident

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The Pokémon World Tournament, Rosenburg Cup. A grand tournament hosted once every ten years, the mega event attracts trainers all around the world including the five main regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova to the island settlement Rosenburg, a three hour journey away from the Kanto region by flight. In hopes of winning the championship, Ash Ketchum, a sixteen year old trainer from Pallet Town entered the tournament after a year of training in seclusion under his teacher and father, Alexander Ketchum. Despite losing five leagues in five different regions in a row, the young trainer entered the tournament with determination fueled by his veteran teacher's training in Pokémon battling. However, his hopes of winning crashed right in the beginning of the tournament when he was totaled by the legendary Pokémon trainer Tobias, in an intense group stage match. Now, with three more group matches left, Ash needs to win all his battles in order to make it into the next tier. Will Ash succeed?

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**PROLOGUE**

_The Elite's Answer_

* * *

**Rosenburg Island, October 6th**

On a craggy coastline standing below the mountainous region in the far east of Rosenburg Island, two humanoid creatures stood face to face, prepared to engage each other in a brawl, each under the command of their respective trainers. The two Pokémon stood unfazed by the rough weather, ignoring the chills the cold water touching the shores and the strong sea breeze gave them. The sky, painted in an orange hue indicated the onset of a pleasant evening, creating a contrast to the heated battle that was about to begin.

One of them was a round bipedal creature characterized by the shaggy fur covering its body and the metal shackles it wore on its wrists and ankles. The Pokémon restlessly shifted its weight from one foot to the other, snorting hot breath out of its large pink snout.

However, despite its impatient gibbering, the Pokémon neither let its guard down nor lunged at its opponent hastily. Instead, the primate put its glove shaped fists up, studying the opponent carefully in preparation for its attack.

Eyeing the foe's movements, the opposing Pokémon, vaguely resembling a professional boxer, put up a similar fighting stance. The Pokémon leaned forward on its left foot, ready to spring into action while the right foot rested on its ball. Much like its furry opponent, the punching Pokémon had its gloves up protecting its face, the right slightly behind the left.

"We're ready when you are Ash," said the trainer standing behind the latter. Standing over six feet tall, the man packed with muscles joined his hands, as if in meditation, before opening his eyes. "Don't hesitate and attack," he spoke, authority in his voice and confidence in his gaze. Apparently, he didn't care about the chilly weather either, considering he wore nothing but white pants that were tied up by a black belt.

"Alright then," the teen-aged, raven-haired trainer agreed. He was sporting a red hat turned around back to front andcarried a determined expression to beat the giant standing before him. He wore a light blue collared shirt with white outlines over grey jeans that were folded up to his ankles. "Let's show Bruno what we're made of," he declared, throwing a side glance at the tiny mouse Pokémon sitting beside him. A pair of red sneakers lay on his side by the rock, where the yellow rodent rested.

"Pika Pika!" The rodent cried in encouragement.

"Primeape," the younger trainer balled his fists, "Use Mega Punch!" He pumped his fist enthusiastically as he gave the command.

"Guard yourself," the elite responded calmly.

The Pig Monkey Pokémon sprang into action at once, leaping at the opponent with its right fist raised up in the air. In response, the Punching Pokémon dug its right foot into the ground, crossing its arms to brace the incoming attack. The attack crashed on the guarding boxer like a truck, pressuring it back with brute force that could turn a car to scrap. But the boxer demonstrated that it wouldn't have any of that when it managed to stand in its place without even budging an inch.

"Not bad," Ash complimented, though he seemed slightly surprised by Hitmonchan's endurance, "In that case, let's use Close Combat!"

A glint was seen in the primate's eyes as it withdrew its fist, alerting the other Pokémon. The primate then stepped forward towards the guarded Hitmonchan and threw a flurry of punches that were so fast, they could barely be seen by the naked eye. The boxer, however, proved to be equally inhuman when it responded to the primate's furious barrage of punches.

The Punching Pokémon moved its neck to slip away from the first two blows aimed at its face, but as the third punch came to strike the Pokémon on its chest, the boxer swatted away the attack with its left glove after taking a step back. The persistent primate, however, closed in once again and jabbed at the opposing Pokémon with its left fist, an attempt that was once again blocked by the latter. Frustrated, the primate tried to power through with a powerful right-handed punch, which the elite's combatant guarded against by punching back with its left glove, nullifying the attack completely.

"Now's your chance," Bruno said, slamming his bare foot on the rocky ground, "Mach Punch!"

The Pokémon tensed at once, its right glove glowing with energy. The primate bent its knees, throwing a wary glance to Hitmonchan's right. And then the punch came, at a blitzing speed that could only be registered as a blur by the human eye. However—

The primate sprang back as the Mach Punch rocketed up, only to feed the empty air between them. A considerable gap now separated the two Pokémon, owing to the pig monkey's natural ability to leap long distances.

The move caused the elite to raise his eyebrows, surprise briefly registering on his face before being replaced by a small smile, "That Primeape has some good instincts."

"Thanks," the raven-haired trainer replied, the edge of his lips tugging upwards, "But he's that good 'cos he was trained to be a P-1 Champion."

"P-1," Bruno muttered the name, a faint recognition on his face, "Did you hear that, Hitmonchan?"

The Pokémon nodded,a strange combination of glee and excitement now showing on its face as it mumbled something to its opponent. Primeape growled back in return, snorting to pump itself into action. The trainers acknowledged the growing competitive flare within the Pokémon, as the expression resonated in their faces.

"Mach Punch!"

"Primeape, dodge!"

The Punching Pokémon jumped into action, closing down the distance between the two combatants. In response, the primate jumped away to hide behind a rock as another of the blurry punches rocketed through the space where the Pokémon once stood. But the fighting type was relentless. Turning its head in the direction its opponent slipped away, Hitmonchan lunged at the rock behind which the primate hid itself.

The hard rock was blown into a million pieceswhen the Hitmonchan's fists tore through it like paper, exposing the hiding primate. The Pig Monkey, however, took another leap before its opponent could charge another of its moves. The boxer followed its opponent as Primeape landed, the gap between them becoming smaller than ever. Redeeming yet another chance, the Punching Pokémon attempted to box the pig monkey into oblivion, but was rewarded with a small graze instead. The Pokémon were now close enough for Hitmonchan to feel Primeape's hot breath. Clearly, the pig monkey had no escape the next time. However—

"Mega Punch!"

The small gap between the two Pokémon was something the primate could take advantage of as well, especially since the Hitmonchan was still regaining its stance after its previous punch. Using the chance created by Hitmonchan's momentum, the primate crossed its right fist straight onto the boxer's face. But then—

The latter displayed its excellent reflexes by quickly shifting from offense to defense and blocked the Mega Punch with ease. The punch hammered the less-than-prepared boxer a couple of steps back, but the Pokémon managed to stifle the attack completely without receiving a single scratch.

Both of the Pokémon took a brief pause to catch their breaths. While Primeape spent the most of its effort into offense with power consuming moves, the opponent paid a fair share of its own stamina too in addition to the slight damage it received while stopping the primate's powerful attacks.

"Now Ash," Bruno said, folding his arms. "Since we were discussing battle styles, what do you think of mine?"

Ash's lips thinned into a line, as he pondered on the question for a while, "Your battle style focuses on taking as many attacks as you can and then strike back when the opponent's tired…" he commented, and added hesitantly, "I guess?"

"Close," the elite commented, "But not exactly. Let me show you how my style works." He clenched his fists, "Hitmonchan, Bulk Up."

"A defensive move huh," Ash muttered. He was curious as to what Bruno's battle style was but at the same time he couldn't resist exploiting the opponent's vulnerability, "Then in that case, use Focus Punch."

The primate nodded, pulling back its right fist like a catapult before releasing a stone. Meanwhile, Hitmonchan took a deep breath and tensed its muscles, standing still even as its opponent began to collect immense fighting power into its right hand. The strength the primate built up continued to grow as a stream of energy formed around the primate's fist. Meanwhile, the boxing Pokémon's muscles suddenly began to bulge, instantly giving the Pokémon a well-toned body that belittled fitness centers' advertisements.

The stream of energy around the primate's fists then took a proper shape surrounding its gloved fist.

"Go!" Ash exclaimed, deciding it was the right moment to attack.

The pig monkey took a giant leap, bridging the gap between either battlers in the matter of a second as it threw its right hand straight at the opponent.

"Block it!"

The boxer retaliated by joining its two gloved fists together and placed them between the assaulting primate and its face, its knees slightly bent.

The powerful punch landed on the defending Pokémon from above, like the hammer of a demigod, as if to crush Hitmonchan into the ground. But the boxer maintained its posture perfectly, letting its legs bear the brunt of the attack. However, the rocky ground underneath its feet wasn't strong enough to do the same, and cracked because of its inability sponge the blow completely. The powerful shockwave that resulted from the collision sent a burst of wind, forcing both trainers to put some effort into maintaining their footing.

The primate, having failed in its attempt to land a successful attack, jumped back, its eyes wide open in surprise.

"They blocked a Focus Punch?" Ash looked equally stunned, looking at the unscathed Hitmonchan.

"Mach Punch!"

_'Oh no,'_ the raven-haired trainer realized they were vulnerable after launching such a powerful move, "Primeape, dodge!" he yelled hastily.

The primate snapped out of its shock and attempted to jump back as the boxer dashed towards it and—

In the blink of an eye, Hitmonchan's fist rammed straight on the Pokémon's snout like a race car, blowing the already airborne Pokémon away. Luckily, or unluckily, a pillar of rock found itself in the path of the flying Pokémon, upon which the creature landed with an impact that could crush human bones.

"Primeape!" Ash exclaimed, his mouth wide open in surprise.

"Relying on defense to boost up attack power," Bruno boasted, the corners of his lips moved up, "That is my battle style. All my Pokémon can take strong attacks and pump themselves up both mentally and physically. The more hits they take, the stronger they will hit back. In that regard, I must thank your Primeape," he added mockingly.

Ash clenched his teeth shut, giving the older man a mildly apprehensive look before turning to his Pokémon. "Are you okay, buddy?" He asked the Pokémon slowly gathering itself back on its feet.

The Pokémon grunted, its face now red in anger. The primate most certainly didn't appreciate the punch on its nose.

"Our attack landed a direct hit unlike yours," the elite lectured, maintaining his calm demeanor, "The damage Primeape took is now going to give us the edge in addition the attack boost. Do you see the potential in my style now?"

"Yeah," Ash challenged, "Now you are going to take a look at ours."

"Well then, show me what your style is," Bruno goaded,accepting the challenge the younger trainer threw at him, "Hitmonchan, Sky Uppercut!"

_'We can dodge that move, but it's gonna give them more chances to attack,'_ Ash thought. However, they had no means to counter the Sky Uppercut considering both Hitmonchan's expertise and the fact that Primeape's back was to the wall. The raven-haired trainer, however, smiled.

The Punching Pokémon moved towards its opponent unguarded, pulling its right hand back to pull a powerful uppercut. But then—

"Primeape, use the pillar behind you and jump forward!"

The primate jumped at once, pressing its feet against the rock behind and propelled high up into air. Nevertheless, the boxer completed the uppercut in an attempt to catch the flying primate, only to miss by an inch. Having missed its attack, the fighting type found itself stopping in the same spot the pig monkey was a second ago.

"Mega Punch!" Ash ordered, as the pig monkey landed. The primate then jumped at Hitmonchan, throwing another of its powerful punches.

_'He turned things around with just one move. Excellent!_' The elite's lips were pressed together. _'But, you can't corner us that easily,'_ he thought to himself, "Duck!"

The boxing Pokémon, its back to the wall, slithered down as Primeape's fist landed where its head once was, putting a dent in the rocky pillar behind. The primate, who was already furious after Hitmonchan punched its snout, was deeply frustrated by this.

"Let's use that anger," Ash mumbled, attempting to mimic a punch himself, "Primeape," he ordered, pumping his fists forward. "Use Close Combat!"

A glint was seen in the primate's eyes as the Pokémon pulled its fist back and then threw a flurry of punches once again. The boxer didn't have enough space to dodge the attack, leaving itself vulnerable to the multiple punches raining down on Hitmonchan, striking the Pokémon on the face, gut, cheek, chin, cheek and the gut again.

"Hitmonchan," Bruno looked slightly perplexed. His Pokémon was completely at the mercy of the Primeape's fury. He put his two hands together and closed his eyes, as if to calm his mind. And then—

"Use Detect and follow it with Sky Uppercut!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes at once.

The boxer's eyes began to glow with a blue light, an act that dramatically raised its visual prowess. Suddenly, the Primeape's fast and furious punches turned slow, letting Hitmonchan completely study the opponent's attack pattern. Slipping underneath a punch aimed at its face, the boxing Pokémon thrust its right hand upwards. The primate looked down, noticing that the previous attack struck the hard rock instead of the flesh, only to be surprised when a punch rocketed towards it. Before the Pokémon could even fully register the incoming attack and act accordingly, the powerful blow on its gut sent the ape flying into the air.

"Primeape!" Ash cried in worry.

"Pika!" Even the rodent was anxious about its comrade's condition for once.

The Pokémon flew away a good distance, tumbling in the air, before finally crashing on the ground, face first. The fighting-type remained immobile.

Ash's face turned pale upon seeing his Pokémon lying flat on the wet surface. The water washed up by the waves drenched the Pokémon's shaggy fur. The raven-haired trainer cast his eyes down, looking dejected. The rodent's expression mirrored his; the Pokémon's long ears that were always perked up dropped down as if it were lifeless.

Bruno watched his Hitmonchan's shoulders drop in relief. The Pokémon looked equally battered as well. While the Close Combat dealt most of the damage, the other attacks it managed to block did cause a good amount of strain too, especially the Focus Punch. Not to mention Bulk Up had some withdrawal effects too. Regardless, they managed to clinch the victory, albeit barely.

"Prrr..." The low growl from the primate's direction snapped Bruno from his train of thought. Ash looked equally surprised as well, though it was mixed with a hint of happiness on his face when the pig monkey slowly pushed itself up back onto its feet.

"Alright!" Ash chuckled, his visage brightening up. "You're awesome, Primeape."

The Pokémon didn't heed its trainer's praise and instead threw the Hitmonchan a furious glare that most, if not every Pokémon, usually feared when coming from a Primeape. The Hitmonchan however didn't waver, sending back its own serious glare.

"Alright that's enough," Bruno clapped his hands loudly, snapping both Pokémon out of the furious mood. Primeape threw Bruno a wary glance, angry that the elite wouldn't let it quench its fury. But the Pokémon had spent enough time with humans to understand that it was time to drop the bout, no matter how disappointing the prospect was. The Pokémon looked down and growled softly, disappointed.

"Hitmonchan, you were excellent as always," he commended the Pokémon, "And Ash," he smiled at the other trainer and his Primeape, "Your Primeape's still standing after a battle with my Hitmonchan. That's a great achievement by itself."

The raven-haired trainer walked to his Pokémon. "I'm sorry, Primeape," Ash said, patting the furious fighting type, "But you did very well." The Pokémon looked up at its trainer and nodded at this, looking slightly happier.

"So Bruno," he asked, "What do you think?"

'I think you did pretty well," the elite complimented, taking his Hitmonchan back into its Pokéball, "It's rare that someone young like you could do this well in a one-on-one fight against Hitmonchan."

"But there's gotta be something I need to improve, right? I didn't win after all." He wasn't referring to the match he just had now, but to the one he had a week ago, against the mysterious Tobias. He could still remember the bitter feeling he was left with after the loss, because he was carrying it to that very day. It was a week since he lost the match, but he couldn't find an answer other than 'I wasn't good enough'.

The older man scratched the back of his neck, taking a moment of think. "These things are a bit complex…." He trailed off, "But remember this. Just because you've lost a match doesn't mean the battle style you've developed all this time is wrong."

"If you think I've an answer to that question," he continued, "don't you think I'd have been the champion by now?"

Ash's lips spread in a wry smile. "That's what my dad said too," he mused.

"You are the one who knows your style the best. If there's anyone who could find an answer to it, it has to be you. But a small hint," the elite's face now bore a mischievous smile, "You must and you should pursue an answer, though you will never find it. Regardless, the search for an answer should never stop."

Ash blinked at this, "What does that mean?"

"Start by answering that question," he advised."Remember what you've done after that match. Remember the things that crossed your mind all this week and how they affected the way you battle."

Ash folded his arms, falling to deep thought. What did he do all the week? And how would that affect the way he battles? How would it let find him the answer he needed to win against stronger trainers like Tobias? And what did Bruno mean by 'you will never be able to find an answer'?

"Alright then," Bruno announced, collecting the small bag he had brought along for lunch. "Remember what I've said and improve yourself."

"Thanks," Ash nodded, watching the elite walk away, back to the main city. Soon, he was left alone, accompanied only by his two Pokémon and a serene silence, His train of thought travelled back all the way from October 6th to October 2nd.

Bruno.

His dad.

Casey.

Gary.

Morrison.

Barry.

Wallace.

Drew.

May.

Richard.

Paul. That conversation with Paul was where it began. For the first time in his life, even though people called him simple-minded, he remembered exactly when the long train of thought began towards its destination, the 'answer'. The magical answer that could make him the very best.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _And here it begins, the start to the second instalment of Road to be a Pokemon Master, RTBPMII: The Secret To Victory. The title is inspired by the 4Kids opening song of season 4._

**A New Face: **_Friends, let me introduce you to my editor/beta-reader, Undercityrezident. He's a friend I've made through tumblr. I have decided to have him as my beta-reader and after seeing his work for this prologue, I am happy I did. He's an excellent author. If you haven't read his Sommeliershipping fics: _**This Doesn't Change Anything**_ and _**Beyond the Shroud of Contempt**, _I recommend you to read them. His major work, _**Northern Lights and Ocean Dreams**_ is a multi-chaptered Pokeshipping/Pearlshipping triangle love story. If you are a fan of the pairing, I highly recommend you to check out his works._

**Comments : **_Sorry for the huge approx. two month gap, but I am planning to maintain a schedule and maintain it from now on. I'll try my best to make the updates weekly. The first chapter is almost ready too, but will take time including beta-reading and other things. In addition, I will be restarting my fic, Beyond Truths and Ideals from the next week. Hopefully, I'll come up with a new chapter for both of these fics in the coming two weeks._


	2. Chapter 05: Preface and Extras

**Author's Note: **Here is the next instalment of RTBPM. However, my friends, we have a slightly different kind of chapter this week. It's not a proper chapter but more like a refresher to all of you who have forgotten the events of RTBPM or useful for those people who are reading this fanfiction for the first time.

**Chapter 0.5: **Road to be a Pokémon Master (RTBPM)

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**AUTHOR'S PREFACE & EXTRAS**

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Road to be a Pokémon Master began as a side project back when I was still working on my first multi-chaptered fanfiction, Legend of the Dark Prince, but has quickly caught up with it in terms of popularity and has far surpassed it. As an amateur fanfiction author, the response received for this fanfiction made me very happy.

The fanfiction is primarily a tournament fic centered on our beloved protagonist, Ash Ketchum. RTBPMII: The Secret to Victory is part of a five book series, all of which completely revolve around the world tournament.

**The Setting: **

Road to be a Pokémon takes place in an alternate setting of the canon _after_ the events of Black & White's final season with a few minor changes. Iris and Cilan come to Pallet Town along with Ash and briefly join the rest of the travelling companions, who await his return. Delia invites each of his travelling companions so that they could meet up for a surprise she had in store for him.

The surprise turns out to be his father, Alexander Ketchum. Alex abandoned his family for a long gap of ten years in order to vigorously train for the Champion's League but makes a casual return at the beginning of RTBPM, one year before the actual tournament begins. Naturally, Ash doesn't get along with him.

**Alternate Ages: **

The following are the ages of the main cast at the beginning of RTBPM, at the end of BW.

Ash 15, Misty 16, May 14, Dawn 13, Brock 18, Cilan 17, Iris 16, Max 9 (soon to be 10), Delia 33, Alex 34.

The following are the current ages of the main cast including the one year time skip.

Ash 16, Misty 17, May 15, Dawn 14, Brock 19, Cilan 18, Iris 17, Max 10 (soon to be 11), Delia 34, Alex 35.

**The Pokémon League Association and The World Tournament: **The Pokémon League Association, a flourishing organization deep rooted in the main regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, started as a small association seventy nine years ago in Kanto. At the age of seventeen, Charles Goodshow, who was a great fan of Pokémon battles, helped in organizing small tournaments in the Viridian City. In his words:

"I made small time tournaments in Viridian City. I thought: Why not start something big?"

Those thoughts were the foundation for the Pokémon League Association. He collected three great trainers, Eric Waterflower, a water type master, Masara Oak from Pallet Town, and his brother, Adrian Goodshow. He gave them the title 'Gym Leaders', forcing trainers challenging the league to groom their Pokémon to defeat these type specialists. Those who were good enough to complete the challenge were pitted against each other in an annual conference at Viridian City.

The tournament received recognition in a small amount of time. The number of Gym Leaders rose from three, to five, and finally to eight. The annual tournaments took place in the League Village set up on the Indigo Plateau. The sport slowly expanded to the regions of Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, each region establishing up its own set of gym leaders, Elite Four, and Champion.

"We slowly expanded to Sinnoh, Johto, Hoenn and Unova. I make it a point to visit all these regions every year to watch all those wonderful battles," Goodshow said, in the elite battler's conference.

The Champions League, held once every ten years began sixty years ago as a mega event that collected named trainers from all the five leagues. The first Champions League was held between the four champions of the five regions at the Indigo Plateau. But in the following tournaments, after the PLA headquarters was shifted from the Indigo Plateau to Rose-Red Island, the number was greatly expanded. The Island, located to the north east of Kanto near the Decolore Islands, was chosen as the ideal spot for the tournament as it was geographically closest to both the Unova and the Kanto region. The credentials required for participation were really high, leaving the tournament accessible only to a select few top-class trainers.

However, upon Scott's (owner of the Battle Frontier) suggestion, the seventh Champion's League was changed into a much bigger mega event.

The new Pokémon World Tournament system has a much easier criteria for participation. Any trainer with a simple trainer card registration (with or without a Pokédex) having six or more Pokémon can participate, unless said participant was banned by the trainer's association. The tournament currently has forty-six thousand one-hundred and twenty-six participants.

The tournament is seven-staged, each referred to as a tier. Trainers who aren't certified Gym Leaders, Elite Four and Champions of the PLA are placed in tier seven by default. The gym leaders directly join the tournament in tier five, the elites in tier two and the champions in tier one.

**Naming:**

Tier Seven-Six: The Pokémon World Tournament, Rosenburg Cup.

Tier Five-Three: The Gym Leader's World Tournament.

Tier Two: The Elite Battler's World Tournament.

Tier One: The World Champions League.

In Tier seven, the forty-six thousand, one-hundred and twenty-six trainers are divided into nine-thousand two-hundred and forty-eight groups with four or five trainers in each group. The top two in each group are selected into tier six.

**The Rosenburg Culture: **For past Champions Leagues, the criteria for participation was excellent performance (top four) in a regional league and forty badges earned in the five main regions. Trainers who don't have the required merits may also be drawn randomly by Goodshow if they displayed excellent skill in local tournaments. Rosenburg City was built around the headquarters of the PLA in Rose-Red Island, serving as the gathering place for all such trainers who aim to enter the Champion's League. Most trainers usually spend around one to two years in the Rosenburg City.

The city is filled with training facilities, dojos, Don George's battle clubs and many other services related to Competitive Pokémon Training. Since most people are trainers dedicated to battling, the atmosphere and culture in Rosenburg City is completely different from any of the five main land regions. Trainers are much more competitive, though they rarely indulge in unofficial battles in the city. The Eye-Contact battle rule is not applicable inside Rosenburg City.

**The Rosenburg Stadium Complex: **Constructed specifically for the Pokémon World Tournament, the entire complex was built after deforesting a huge amount of land in the Rose-Red Island. The entire facility is divided into seven different regions: The Indigo, Silver, Evergrande, Lily of the Valley and Vertress Regions along with the entrance region for administrative purposes. The Central Region that contains the main stadium: The Rose-Red Region.

Each 'region' consists of a main stadium, surrounded by five smaller stadiums. In addition, each of these regions are provided with hundred battle nets for practice purposes. These practice grounds also serve as battlefields for minor matchups.

A ranch facility is also provided for storing the Pokémon, usually handled under the supervision of an expert Pokémon Doctor. The doctors usually can have up to eight interns or Nurse Joys under them for assistance. Brock Harrison currently works as a Junior Doctor in the Lily of the Valley region's ranch.

**The T-Dex:** The T-Dex, or the Trainer Dexter, is a handy device provided by the league to all participants. The various functions include providing the matchups of every trainer in the tournament, a map showing the location of the various stadiums, a GPS locator and all data related to the trainers taken from their previous Pokémon League records. The data, however, doesn't update any new information revealed about a trainer _during_ the tournament as a part of the tournament conduct. Also, the various Pokémon registered by a trainer are kept a secret between the ranch facilitators, the doctors and the trainer. In case the policy is breached, severe action is usually taken against the employees and doctors will have their licenses taken away.

**Food Stalls and Other Such Facilities: **The spots are usually sold in an auction. Spots are usually ranked by the closeness to the stadiums and various other factors. The food stalls in Rose-Red region are usually sold at an unimaginably high price, but the bidders would have to bear through losses for the first couple of weeks as the Rose-Red region isn't usually open until the later Tiers.

**Hotels: **Much like the food stalls, the areas are sold well beforehand by auction. However, these are permanent facilities built owned by the bidding company timelessly until they sell it back to the league. The PLA's rules don't allow directly selling to a third party. Trainers are provided residences on a first-come first-serve basis. It's only possible for a person to book one room at a time.

**The Train System: **The seven regions of the Rosenburg stadium complex are separated by a good amount of the forest land and usually takes hours of travel by walk. Vehicles aren't allowed inside the complex, so driving is not an option. Trainers and audience alike are required to use the train facilities, personally supervised by the Subway Masters of Unova: Emmet and Ingo.

**Summary of Road to be a Pokémon Master: **The following is a list of events that took place in RTBPM.

**Chapter 1-3: **Alex offers to train Ash for the upcoming world tournament. Ash refuses the offer for two reasons. One being that he's bitter about his father for abandoning the family, and the other being that he didn't acknowledge Ash's erratic battle style.

Alex manages to have a conversation with Ash and the two agree to a Pokémon battle. If Ash were to lose the battle, he would have to take up Alex's proposal. The two-on-two match, witnessed by his friends, the Professor and his mother, begins with a disadvantageous matchup for Ash. Ash's Bulbasaur manages to put Alex's Rapidash in a bind but loses to the fire type's scorching flames. However, in the second round between Pikachu and Dugtrio, the mole Pokémon's dig attack accidentally causes the river to flood the bank, leaving the result of the match undecided.

Alex commends Ash for his performance and asks him for some time to acknowledge his erratic way of battling. Later, Alex reveals to Ash that he won't be participating in the very tournament he abandoned his family for. He keeps the reason in the dark.

The next day, with Gary Oak joining them, the gang reach the Viridian City for the primary registration process. Right after the registration, they run into Paul along with a trainer named Vincent (OC), a childhood friend of his. Ash challenges Paul to a battle and loses against his Torterra.

After watching the battle, Alex acknowledges Ash's methods and agrees to train him in his style.

**Chapter 4-6: **The training between Alex and Ash begins. Dawn returns back to Sinnoh for her own training.

Gary takes May on a date, with Misty and Iris stalking them. The two run into Agatha, who asks them for help.

In a press conference, Giovanni, the missing gym leader who has recently been identified as Team Rocket's boss, surrenders at the Viridian Gym. He, however, makes a claim that Team Rocket was never a criminal organization to begin with, and any names committed under that name weren't related to him or his industry. He also plays innocent to Cynthia's claims that she had encountered him in Unova.

Alex is revealed to have a past history with Giovanni.

**Chapter 7-9: **On their journey through the Viridian Forest, Ash and Alex run into a forest and end up finding an injured Pidgeot, which he realizes when Pikachu points out, was his own Pidgeot. They learn that an injured Zapdos hid inside the forest. Ash and Alex save the Zapdos with the help of Pidgeot. Pidgeot returns with Ash after leaving its friends under the care of five newly evolved Pidgeot.

A few days later, taking a break from their journey throughout Kanto, Ash and Alex go to the Elite Battler's Conference conducted on the occasion of the upcoming world tournament. Ash runs into Flint and Volkner, both of whom decide to have some fun along with him in the otherwise boring party. They run into a man named Veteran Clarke (OC), who is known for his uptight attitude and dislike towards Alex. Flint accidentally reveals Ash about Alex being banned from the world tournament.

Later, Alex explains Ash that he was indeed banned from the world tournament on the accusation that he tried to inject Pokérus into his Pokémon. While some trainers including Cynthia believed that Alex was innocent, others like Veteran Clarke voted for his ban from the Pokémon League. Ash states that he believes in Alex's innocence, much like Cynthia. Despite his bitter feelings towards Alex as a father, he had always seen him as a role model when it came to Pokémon. Ash's words make Alex happy. After that, Ash decides that he'd re-challenge all the gyms of Kanto during the year gap.

Ash returns home with his father after a year of training, a growth spurt boosting his height well above his mother's. Ash and Gary decide to head to Rosenburg Island where the tournament was about to take place together. Alex reveals that he didn't want to set foot in Rosenburg again.

Meanwhile, Paul who meets Dawn in Snowpoint, captures a Rhyhorn after saving her from an accident. The Rhyhorn was abandoned in the snowy region for being weak. Paul wants to mimic Ash's methods in raising Chimchar, in order to develop a similar determination in Rhyhorn like Infernape had.

**Chapter 10-12: **Ash and Gary reach the Rosenburg Stadium Complex, where the tournament was about to take place, and head straight to the registration counter. They run into Katie, one of Ash's former opponents in the Hoenn league. A trainer named Richard (OC) attacks Ash, annoyed that the latter was moving closely with Katie. The two of them end up having a battle. The match between Pikachu and Escavalier is interrupted when Ash spots the former Team Rocket's members Jessie, James and Meowth.

Ash finds the trio behind a restaurant and attempts to snoop into their conversation when a teen named Silver, who proclaims that he hates Team Rocket the most, interrupts Ash and orders him to not poke his nose into their business. The boy is revealed to be Giovanni's son, who carries intense hatred for his father's organization. The trio explain that Ash couldn't take action against them because they weren't doing anything illegal. Later, upon lodging a complaint to Goodshow, the trio are fired from their jobs and kicked out of the world tournament.

Giovanni, now a board member of the Pokémon League Association, attempts to introduce the new "Hold Items" into the league system. Goodshow vehemently tries to stop the move from coming into action. However, Giovanni manages to convince the rest of the board into taking the action. Goodshow consults Cynthia, who introduces him to her long-time friend, Harvey (OC).

Harvey cleverly manipulates the board meeting with his words and convinces them to vote against Giovanni's proposal. As a reward, Harvey is given the control over managing the league.

**Chapter 13-15: **Ash, Paul and Tyson are invited by Harvey to participate in the five exhibition match series before the tournament begins. Ash ends up facing the top favorite, Jason Valentine and loses to his infamous Excadrill. After the battle, Harvey gets into a conversation with Ash and surprises him by mentioning his father's Pokérus ban. Harvey promises that if they were to work together, they could capture the person behind Alex's ban and with some good luck, even free him of the charges. Ash agrees with little hesitation. He asks why Harvey was helping him out for no reason. Harvey replies that he's doing it so that he could someday become the president of the Pokémon League Association and gain control over the whole system.

When Ash calls Alex and mentions the deal, he warns Ash not to take the offer. The resulting conversation leads to an argument between the father and the son. May, who comes searching for Ash, talks with him and learns about his secret. His father's ban was something he kept from everyone, with the exception of Gary, who learned it from Professor Oak. May promises to keep it a secret as well.

The matchups for the tournament are announced. Ash ends up facing Tobias right away in the first match of group C1.

**Chapter 17-23: **The full battle between Ash and Tobias begins. After a year of training, Ash is determined to, more than ever, defeat the legendary Pokémon trainer. Ash seems to dominate the match in the beginning, with Staraptor forcing Tobias to switch out Darkrai, and Raikou's defeat coming at the hands of Infernape. However, when Landorus enters the scene, the tables turn in favor of Tobias. Ash quickly loses Infernape and Glalie, while his Garchomp ends up taking critical damage. The dark type, Scrafty, finally puts an end to Landorus's rampage by letting the legendary succumb to its powerful Ice Punch.

The next matchup turns out to be between the bird Pokémon, Staraptor and Moltres. The legendary bird dominates the round until Ash calls out the dangerous combination technique, _Brave Attack,_ after much hesitation. The combination move not only severely damages Moltres but also renders Staraptor crippled, forcing the raven-haired to switch the bird out.

Alex explains to the rest of the gang that during the one year of training, the father and son tried developing a tactic exclusive to Ash that would give him an edge in Pokémon battles. The result was a new style called combination moves. While some of them like Staraptor's combination of Quick Attack and Aerial Ace were easy to perform and came with no side effects, most of them were techniques that give high rewards in exchange for high risks. Staraptor's combination, Brave Attack was a combination of Quick Attack and Brave Bird. The powerful combination of these two techniques overwhelmed Moltres' Sky Attack, but left Staraptor severely burned.

Ash tries to defeat the weakened legendary using Garchomp, an attempt that ends up being futile when Garchomp's Draco Meteor gets caught up in a hurricane attack and defeats the dragon Pokémon. The first half ends with Ash losing three of his Pokémon, while Tobias only down two of his legendary monsters.

The second half begins with Ash's sixth and final Pokémon, Sceptile, pulling a surprise Rock Slide over the fire type. Ash continues his winning momentum by defeating Latios with Scrafty and punches a great hole in Darkrai's defenses using a power-upped Ice Punch. Cornered by the Hoodlum Pokémon's advances, Tobias ends up switching out Darkrai and uses his sixth Pokémon: Deoxys.

Deoxys, with its ability to shift forms, overwhelms Scrafty and defeats Sceptile in a close fight. The match ends with Ash's weakened Staraptor falling to Darkrai.

Unable to digest the 6-4 defeat against Tobias, Ash broods over the result of the match, wondering why he was defeated and what he needs to become stronger. In an unexpected meeting with Paul, the Veilstone trainer leaves Ash with a vague answer.

**List of Characters Appearing in RTBPM:**

**Major: **Ash Ketchum, Delia Ketchum, Alexander Ketchum (OC), Gary Oak, Misty, Brock, May, Max, Dawn, Cilan, Iris, Harvey McMillan (OC), Cynthia, Giovanni.

**Minor: **Professor Oak, Norman, Caroline, Ritchie, Vincent (OC), Harrison, Morrison, Tyson, Silver (semi-OC based on the HGSS games' rival), Katie, Richard (OC), Barry, Paul, Conway, Nando, Zoey, Harley, Ursula, Drew, Solidad, Trip, Bianca, Georgia, Burgundy, Stephan, Cameron, Virgil, Silver, Dr. Zager, Jessie, James, Meowth, Charles Goodshow, The Gym Leaders, Elite Four and Champions of the five regions, Scott, Veteran Clarke (OC), Jason Valentine (OC), Mao (OC).

* * *

**Original Characters Corner:**

**Alexander Ketchum:**

**Introductory Note:**

Alex is easily one of the characters I like the most. Whenever I try to write him, I always attempt to make his next action or dialogue unpredictable. He was one of the most hated characters in the beginning of this fic, but was bumped down after a few chapters and was then replaced by Harvey McMillan altogether.

He is based off Silver, a CoTD from Pokémon Chronicles. However, many changes were made in his design (in my brain, duh) and a complete new character with an attitude has been created.

**Physical Description: **Alex has a good physical build. Being Bruno's co-student under Mao in Rosenburg, they are similar in a way that they train their bodies along with their Pokémon. Alex has a light-brown spiky hair that is in fact longer than his wife's hair ironically. He possesses eyes that are as black as coal. His standard attire before reuniting with his family was a green and weathered overcoat which he wore over a black sleeveless shirt.

**Personality:** Alex is a cynical person, who doesn't hesitate telling his opinion on a person or a given subject of discussion whether it is negative or positive. While he's simple-minded and slightly easy to agitate (like his son), his views on the world and people around him are not as positive as Ash's. This comes from the fact that he was betrayed, keeping him from achieving his biggest dream: becoming a Pokémon Master. What most people might find harmless and innocent seem dangerous to Alex. An example for this would be Dawn. While most people view her as a plain sweet girl who deeply cares about the people around her, Alex views her as the kind of person who would hide her pain and anger inside while being deceitfully nice on the outside.

Alex is a typical tough guy with slight superiority complex. When in a group, he always assumes he's the center of attention and tries leading the conversation. He's a chauvinist, and has a slightly low opinion on women. He often makes distasteful sexual jokes about women that has caused him to be at the center of many a woman's fury. However, as long as he is around Delia, Alex will think twice about doing something like that. One would wonder how a sweet, harmless woman like Delia could control someone like Alex. The answer happens to be her heels, as Delia says. Or her rolling-pin, as Alex adds.

**Pokémon: **All under Professor Oak's possession. He currently owns none of his old Pokémon as a result of his ban.

**Next Chapter's OC corner: **Richard.


End file.
